Blow Us All Away

Tonight, the day after the Sandy Hook anniversary and when LA schools were closed due to a "credible threat," I'm especially glad for my daughter.

I'm glad for her everyday. Today I'm super proud of her because she did well on her piano recital, and aced her math test, and did well in violin this morning, and finally seems to be getting her math facts, and was a trooper about adjusting her expander. Because she is SO excited for Christmas, and to write in her diary every night, and to be close to moving up a reading level.

But I love her on the days she is cranky, and unhappy, and difficult. Those are the days when she needs love even more, and it's all the more rewarding to be able to show her I love her.

I love this world more because I love her. And I ache to make it better.

I never expected to have this kind of love, and I am grateful for that. And there's a lot of responsibility there, to try to make the world a better place, so that by the time she is grown the "lockdown drills" they practice now are as outdated as "duck and cover."

"Pride is not the word I'm looking for, there is so much more inside me now...If we lay a strong enough foundation, we'll pass it on to you, we'll give the world to you, and you'll blow us all away."

----

Lest you think that this is only the kind of responsibility a parent feels, I encourage you to read a piece by my friend Kelly, as published in my friend Steph's blog. Because we all have  a lot of responsibility to make this world

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